Ex-trade minister stresses Korea-EU partnership amid US-China tension

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Sat, December 9, 2023 | 09:11

Companies

Ex-trade minister stresses Korea-EU partnership amid US-China tension

Posted : 2022-09-20 15:50

Updated : 2022-09-21 10:11

Former Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo delivers a lecture during the Business+ Forum at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency

By Park Jae-hyuk

A former top trade negotiator for Korea emphasized the importance of the country's strategic partnership with the European Union (EU), amid the paradigm shift in the global trade environment, which has mainly stemmed from the fierce rivalry between the U.S. and China.

Yeo Han-koo, a visiting professor at Seoul National University Business School, who served as the minister for trade for nine months until May, said Tuesday that Korea and the EU are "like-minded" partners sharing similar values in the midst of the tension between the U.S. and China, as both of them strongly advocate a multilateral trading system and rules-based international order.

"Without ASML, Samsung can't manufacture any of its high-end chips," he told foreign businesspeople participating in a forum hosted jointly on Tuesday by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK).

He also described Korea as a critical supply chain player and technology leader for EU's Indo-Pacific cooperation strategies, mentioning that the country is the first major free trade agreement (FTA) partner of the EU in Asia.

In his lecture on new global trends in the trade and investment environment, the former minister underscored the necessity to upgrade and expand the 12-year-old free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and the EU, so that the framework can include supply chain resilience, technology standard cooperation, digital trade, vaccine partnerships and decarbonization components.

He especially called for a coordination in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) between Korea and the EU. The CBAM refers to a proposed carbon tariff on carbon-intensive products, such as cement and some electricity, imported by the EU.

ECCK President Christoph Heider, who emceed the forum, agreed with Yeo's view that the Korea-EU FTA is too old to remain unchanged.

During the event, Yeo also asked the participants to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030.

"I don't have to repeat why Busan is the best place," he said. "I want you to deliver this message to your capital."

Lyu Jae-won, executive vice president of trade-investment data at KOTRA, said he wants the forum to be a good opportunity for foreign businesspeople to review their first-half performances and learn new global trends.

pjh@koreatimes.co.kr